Glad to see this…finally. It was pretty apparent from the start that the money has to come from somewhere and that property owners would get stuck…again.

I’m told that over the last 10 or so years we’ve gone from 50/50 business/property owner revenue source to 25/75 in Ada County. If this goes, the balance will be shifted even more.

Just how much time will it take until we’re footing the entire bill?

Yeh, this is the first thing that came to mind when I read about this cockamamie idea yesterday. Butch is proposing that the Average Joe pay more taxes so that Idaho Power can get a huge tax break. This is not the Republican Party that I once loved. This is 70’s Democrat Party stuff, where the biggest lobbying influence drives policy.

We have a very small business (just my husband and I, as well as, our three sons). Every year, we have to itemize every thing we have in our offices and shop area….desks, water coolers, calculators, telephones, fax machines, even homemade stands. I have to put down the date I purchased them (or made them) and what I paid for them at the time, also the serial # on each. Not only is it time consuming to go through our whole office/shop each year and look on every item, I pay a tax on them each and every year….again and again. This is ridiculous!! Why do I have to repeatedly pay a tax on the same thing, over and over again. I paid sales tax on each item the day that I purchased them. Each year, I pay over $4000.00 just from this tax on “personal property” for the business. For about two years, we were down to 1/2 pay for each of our sons, and we didn’t even take a salary. We were just trying to get through the downturn. This tax is in addition to real property taxes on our shop. It is a huge hardship to us, as well as countless other small business. I wonder if Micron goes through and reports every desk, calculator, pencil sharpener, etc.

EDITOR NOTE–Debie, Micron has a tax ceiling on what it pays, thanks to special legislation. The real money is on major “production and operating” equipment and that is what the big boys are fighting. Farmers are exempt and the only really fair way to get some relief is to simply exempt the first $100,000 worth of personal property for everyone. That way the little folks like you wouldn’t be hurt, the big boys would see some relief, but the big value property like power lines, substations, phone switching facilities, mining equipment, etc. would still contribute to local revenues.

The legislature could, if they were so inclined, repeal the per prop tax while requiring that the difference be made up by state income tax. That would be much more fair than property taxes or sales taxes.

EDITOR NOTE–Rod, that would be a pretty stiff tax since we are at about 8% already on state income tax.

Editor puts it smartly:
“…the only really fair way to get some relief is to simply exempt the first $100,000 worth of personal property for everyone. That way the little folks like you wouldn’t be hurt, the big boys would see some relief, but the big value property like power lines, substations, phone switching facilities, mining equipment, etc. would still contribute to local revenues.
But will it get changed rationally???

Debie Wilson clearly explains the ritual that all business owners have to perform every year. The response from The Guardian is similar to most John Q. Public out there. All they care about is where the new source of revenue comes from. Lets not forget the tax is ridiculous! Imagine a wealth tax on everything you own. That new lawnmower, bicycle, cars, and your kids bed was all taxed every year. That means you pay sales tax when you buy it and every year you pay taxes again and again. Trust me the pitch forks would have been out a long time ago.

Well that is how small business owners feel. This tax is fundamentally unfair. Deal with the Microns and HP’s however you want, but remember they can always move somewhere else.

I understand the lost revenue will have to be made up, but the existing revenue it currently generates does not justify an unfair tax.

The governor didn’t forget the homeowner. The homeowner already is exempt from personal property tax and gets the second largest real property tax exemption in the form of the homeowners exemption. The HOE has been dealt with (increased) several times in the last decade resulting in a shift away from the homeowner to the very same businesses that are trying to get relief now. The personal property tax needs to go. The only proposal better than the governor’s would be to repeal the tax and not replace the revenue to local governments. If the locals can prove the true necessity of the services impacted by the loss let them replace the revenue at the local level through real property tax raises voted on by the people.

in 2008 a law was passed to exempt the first $100,000 in business personal property. The legislation would push the $20 million cost to local governments onto the general fund to eliminate the tax for about 89 percent of Idaho businesses. In 2009 lawmakers delayed implementation until state revenue begin growing again.

The Idaho associations of counties, cities and school boards want the 2008 law implemented now but oppose a further shift of the personal property tax.

Sounds like a reasonable solution.